Your World Tonight - Tariffs, tariffs, tariffs, but also Ukraine, Iran sanctions, and more

Episode Date: August 24, 2026

Anger and frustration from politicians and citizens in both countries, and fear and uncertainty among industry. U.S. President Donald Trump has added to his tariff threats two days after he imposed 50 per cent tariffs on about $28 billion worth of Canadian goods. And the two sides aren’t even talking. Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will go back to the table when the U.S. shows “the right attitude.”And: Stress and anxiety — so prevalent among youth since the pandemic — appear to be going down. We’ll have the details of a new survey of teens in Ontario.Plus: Ukraine needs more than missiles, hospitality industry hurt by cuts to temporary foreign workers program, U.S. targets Iran economy, and more.

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This guy's a loser. He's going to be a loser. And as simple as that, we're going to fight with everything we have. Anger and frustration at a boiling point as a trade war escalates. Ontario's premier responds to insults from the U.S. president with barbs of his own. Donald Trump now threatening even more tariffs on autos and steel, as his vice president says Canada needs to get ready. And they don't expect Maine or anybody else to fight back.

We're sick of that. We are actually going to fight back against unfair trade practices, whether it's coming from China or Canada. This is Your World Tonight. It's Monday, August 24th, just before 6 p.m. Eastern. I'm Salima Shivji.

As the rhetoric gets even uglier, Mark Carney says Canada will only return to the negotiating table once the U.S. improves its attitude. This, as Canadians, dig in for a long fight. I think it's about time that we stood up for our rights and someone needs to stand up to Trump.

We're a strong enough country. I think we can handle this. I think we got it. I think we should buy local as much as possible and support our own economy the best that we can. Canada's leaders are promising to support the industries that will be hardest hit in the coming economic storm. We start our coverage tonight with Olivia Stefanovic in Ottawa. It's not a surprise for us that the U.S. would take some form of reprisal. While not unexpected, Prime Minister Mark Carney says Donald Trump's latest tariff threat is revealing. What message does that send to the workers in Michigan and Ohio and Kentucky and Alabama who rely on Canadian demand? In a truth social post, the U.S. President says he will

increase levies on all Canadian cars by next year. After the Prime Minister walked away from a proposed trade agreement with the U.S., Carney says talks could resume, but only under certain conditions. When the Americans go to the negotiation table first with the right attitude towards our industries and a true partnership. The relationship between the U.S. and Canada further sour today with Ontario Premier Doug Ford not holding back. I have a lot of real estate on my ass, so he has a lot of room to kiss my ass. Trump fired back with a truth social post of his own, calling Ford a flunky and a clown. You know something? I've been in this game a lot longer than he has. I got skin on me like an alligator. Trump also invoked Ford's late brother, former Toronto mayor, Rob Ford, calling the

Premier, the less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother. You know something? I've dealt with guys like you my whole life. And guess what? You all become losers because you're a loser. Trump's attacks following Ford's call for energy, electricity, and critical minerals to be cut off from the U.S. I think we need to see something that is going to hit them where it hurts and have an impact. New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt says all of the provinces and territories are strategizing with the federal government. on the most strategic and targeted response. With Canada's dollar-for-dollar retaliation set to kick in against the U.S. the Tuesday after Labor Day.

We do see in the president and his team's actions and words an attempt to control Canada and to insert themselves over our sovereignty in ways that are unacceptable. Alberta Premier Daniel Smith released a statement tonight saying she spoke to Ford and made it clear, cutting off energy exports to the U.S. is not a viable option. While the premiers have their disagreements, so far all say they still want to play on team Canada and win this escalating economic war against the U.S.

Olivia Estefanovich, CBC News, Ottawa. The Americans aren't missing their words today. Both the president and vice president are taking aim north of the border with a bevy of insult, complaining Canada is a leech on the U.S. economy and fully dependent on their protection. Catherine Tunney has those details. I would not expect that from Canada. We have to remember, Canada is a state, sorry, Freudian Slip. That was actually an accident.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vandt bringing his administration's anti-Canada attacks to Maine, campaigning within driving distance to the shared border. Stop taking advantage of America. It's over. Relations between the history. historic allies slumped further into decline. In two true social posts, U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up his assault on Canada, suggesting he'll slap more tariffs on the Canadian steel and auto industry come January 1st and resurrected one of his favorite annexation jabs, calling the Canadian Prime Minister the governor.

Canada and China have been... Trump's second in command says trade negotiations are still underway between the two sides. The tone, as combative as ever. Canada is a country that has underinvested in its military that quite literally would get invaded by a foreign country, were it not for the umbrella of protection provided by the United States of America. Unfortunately, Prime Minister Carney rose to power on an anti-American anti-Trump platform. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant also showing a united front as the administration sells their tariff agenda. I still think imposing new tariffs on Canada is a mistake. But not all members of the GOP agree. Despite Bans campaigning in her state, Maine Senator Susan Collins

distanced herself from the White House ahead of a high-stakes re-election campaign. We produce a lot of Maine, our blueberries, our potatoes, our lobster, our lumber that is processed across the border. If it comes back with a huge tariff on it, perhaps as much as 50%, that increases the cost of eating, building homes. It's that very argument Democrats are hoping to see on the ballot this November. Peter Welch is a Democratic senator in Vermont. We cherish our relationships with Canada. Trump tore that script up and is dismay. The people who are going to be able to weigh.

are the voters. Jimran Bayoumi, a Canada trade expert at the Atlantic Council, says Trump is taking a risk ahead of the midterms, with many Americans already feeling squeezed by the Iran war. Those costs have translated to everyday Americans, and they are indicating their displeasure with these increased costs. They're not supportive of the war. And I think anything that continues to raise the cost of living

is not going to be a politically winning message for the administration to roll out ahead of November. With Trump facing a domestic squeeze, the Canada attacks are unlikely to stop. Catherine Taney, CBC News, Washington. There are a lot of moving parts to this story. So let's bring in the CBC's Peter Armstrong. Peter, we have tariffs, we have a whole new layer of uncertainty, and now a very real threat of escalation.

What are the economic consequences here? So the escalation is probably the biggest fear in terms of consequences. These latest tariffs, they're only going to hit like 5% of exports. Where they hit, they will hit hard. It's worth noting. But if you zoom out, we're talking this could shave off like a half a point in terms of GDP growth. So let's talk about that escalation. If Donald Trump targets the auto sector, exactly what kind of damage can he do? So he can do very real damage.

But the impact of any of that damage is going to be felt on both sides of the border. You know, we spent 60 years building this increasingly efficient, increasingly integrated automotive industry. And using that, they call it the just in time delivery. It means nobody has to build or manage storage. Those parts arrive, literally, just in time. But if they don't, the entire system grinds to a halt. And is it really as simple as all that? I mean, it is.

There are like 950,000 U.S. workers at assembly plants in the States. If they're not getting parts, they can't assemble. And you can't just source these tailor-made parts from Amazon. It's a super complex supply chain of high-skill and continent-wide logistics. And even if you could somehow target just Canadian manufacturing, there's like $29 billion in U.S. auto parts going into Canadian Assembly every year. And how much damage has already been done here? Lots of damage. And just to stick with the auto industry for a moment,

North American automakers have lost something like $110 billion in tariffs and trade disruptions in the last 18 months alone. Listen here to Lucas Malinowski, the CEO of Global Automakers, Canada. And in the case of U.S. exports to Canada, they're down 22% and $7 billion over the last year. And Canada is the largest market for U.S. made cars, larger than the next three export markets combined. So our U.S. colleagues are also looking for a resolution to this situation. Okay. Now back to those current tariffs now in effect. Canada has threatened dollar for dollar retaliation, but we did hear from Mark Carney today seeming to back away from that, right, saying it's difficult to do. So why would the prime minister do that? Remember, there's a difference

between product for product and dollar for dollar retaliation. And even then, the U.S. economy is just vastly larger than Canada's. Economists will remind you that tariffs hurt everyone. U.S. tariffs are paid by Americans. Counter-ter tariffs would be paid by Canadians. So there's an economic argument, at least, to do nothing. But there's a political calculation, and boy, people are angry. So doing nothing, I'm not sure that's really an option.

All right. The CBC's senior business correspondent, Peter Armstrong. Thanks for this, Peter. You bet. Coming right up, taking aim at Iran's economy. The United States reveals how it intends to further cripple the Islamic Republic's finances. Plus, new research suggests improvement in the mental health of young people. And later, we'll have this story.

I'm Sabrina Fabian in Halifax. From front desk supervisors to night auditors, a busy downtown hotel in Halifax is dealing with staffing shortages. Temporary foreign workers have to stop working, never mind with two weeks notice. The day they were told no, they were told, and you have to stop working. immediately. You can't come to work today. As Canada cuts back on immigration, people who are living and working here are told to go home, leaving a void in the hospitality industry. I'll have that story coming up on your world tonight. The United States says it's going to sever Iran's links with the global economy. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant unveiled new sanctions designed to further isolate

the country. They include measures to punish those who do business with the regime. But as Sasha Petrissik reports Iran has already spent decades evading U.S. sanctions. With U.S. military force against Iran on hold, Washington threatened what Treasury Secretary Scott Besant calls an economic deed day. Operation economic outcast built on threats of a financial onslaught. We'll tighten the noose and block every potential source of revenue that funds the IRC and the EU, and the evil Iranian regime. The U.S. says it plans to target countries continuing to do business with Iran, blocking them from U.S. dollar banking systems

and punishing their companies and citizens. Sixty of these are being sanctioned today. But Washington stopped short of any further action right now against any state. Iran dismissed the threat as a sign of desperation, with Foreign Minister Abbasarakshi saying Iran has survived previous economic sanctions and will confront these as well. Iran is threatening to renew attacks on U.S. facilities in neighboring states like Qatar and Kuwait in response. Danny Sittrinowitz at the Institute for National Security Studies says,

unlike U.S. President Donald Trump, Iran is willing to continue fighting. is relying heavily on the economical pressure because it doesn't want to return back to the United War. But the problem is that it's not sustainable. At the end of the day, without off-front to the Iranians, the Iranians will retaliate. Indeed, Iran and its allies in Yemen, Houthi militants, have kept firing at ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea,

even after almost six months of U.S. military action. The U.S. has also failed to enlist China, Iran's biggest, ongoing oil customer enforcing Tehran to reopen the strait. Trump has been careful not to alienate Chinese President Xi Jinping and is set to meet with him next month. Asked whether China will now be a target for sanctions, Besson was vague. No one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions. But Beijing is standing firm. Sanctions will only escalate the situation. says Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, China will continue to look out for its own interests. But on the streets of Tehran, there are those who say they're worried about being squeezed further by renewed U.S. sanctions.

It's really very difficult, says Sarah Hasembeghi. I don't think people can take this war much longer. Sasha Petrosic, CBC News, Toronto. The UK's new Prime Minister made his first trip to Kiev with an unprecedented offer. Andy Burnham is promising to share classified technology so Ukraine can build cruise missiles on home soil. But the plan may take more time and money than Ukraine has with Russian attacks intensifying. And as Breyer Stewart reports, it won't help with what Kiev needs most defensive weaponry. At a ceremony in central Kiev, soldiers stand in rows listening as Ukraine's president,

Volodymyr Zelensky speaks alongside UK Prime Minister Andy Burnin. As part of the trip, the UK announced that it would be providing Ukraine with classified information so it could produce its own Storm Shadow cruise missiles. We will continue our support for Ukraine's defense. I know you need more help to protect your skies and your civilians. France turned over its classified missile technology last month. Ukraine has used the cruise. missiles supplied by both countries to strike targets in Russia.

And now with the blueprints, it will be able to produce its own. Dmitri Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, accuse Britain of adding fuel to the fire. Defense experts say it could take years for Kyiv to be able to ramp up its own production. And what it's in desperate need of now are U.S.-made interceptors, which are able to take down Russian, ballistic missiles. In recent weeks, dozens of Ukrainians have been killed in strikes. While some Patriot batteries sit empty, as there isn't enough ammunition to try to defend against

all attacks, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky. We need at least 300 patriotic missiles for the winter and for the cold month. Earlier in the summer, U.S. President Donald Trump mused that Washington could give Ukraine the license to produce its own Patriot interceptors. It's a hard thing to give away that kind of technology. But he quickly walked that back. The U.S. supply of patriots has dwindled. The Center for Strategic and International Studies

estimates that 60% of its stockpile was used up during the war with Iran. Olexi Melnik, a military analyst with the Kiev-based Razumkov Center, says, well, Ukraine needs more Patriot Interceptors, they alone cannot be the solid. solution. Ukraine has been receiving an average about 22 interceptors. In addition to stocks, Russian production capabilities 100 ballistic missiles. He says Ukraine won't have enough patriots to intercept all of Russia's ballistic missiles. And even when they are intercepted, the fragments can still cause a lot of damage. He says Moscow needs to be stopped from launching them in the

first place, and more cruise missiles would be helpful when it comes to taking out Russian military targets. Breyer Stewart, CBC News, London. The mayor of a town outside Haiti's capital says at least 30 people are dead after a gang attack. It happened in Ken Scoff, a hillside town overlooking Port-au-Prince. It has reportedly been the sight of a number of gang attacks in the last several years. Rights groups say there have been mass killings, rapes, and kidnappings, and thousands have been forced to flee their homes. Years after the peak of the pandemic, new research now suggests psychological distress

among young people in Ontario is starting to ease. But the survey from the Center for Addiction and Mental Health says it still remains worryingly high. Cam H surveyed more than 10,000 kids of high school age, and as health reporter Lauren Pelly tells us, those affected are reaching out for different kinds of help. It was not only just anxiety, but more so, like I guess the idea, of isolation. 18-year-old Hannah Grover began feeling anxious back in grade 8 as the whole world

was shutting down in the pandemic. We lost face-to-face connection. We lost peer connection. We lost our time in schools, our time with our friends. And that idea of isolation really brought on this feeling of helplessness. The Surrey BC resident turned to creative outlets to cope, including poetry, and is now an advocate for youth mental health. A new study suggests many young Canadians are still struggling. Toronto's Center for Addiction and Mental Health surveyed more than 10,000 students in Ontario from grades 7 to 12.

The team found a third reported elevated stress and anxiety, while 1 in 5 reported symptoms of depression. Our survey indicated that about 46% of students had symptoms that put them at risk of moderate serious psychological distress. That's Haley Hamilton, senior scientist and co-director of the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research. The silver lining, she says, is the results are actually an improvement from the hospital's last survey two years earlier, showing psychological stress faced by young people may be down overall since the pandemic. A lot of resources have been put in. Schools have done a lot.

There's much more to be done, of course, because the numbers are still high. but, you know, it's good news at this small instant anyway. It's great to see a decline, but we know that kids still have really complex issues, that they are still seeking support. Rebecca Shields is the CEO of Kids Help Phone, a free national mental health service. She says young Canadians reach out for a wide variety of reasons, and this year is proving busy. We've had a 24% increase in the volume in the first six months of 2026 compared to the first

six months of 2025. So young people are reaching out. And predominantly the number one issue is anxiety and stress, followed by relationships, and then depression and hopelessness. And our fourth top issue is suicide. Shield says the lives of young Canadians are ever more complex, from the pressures of social media to anxiety about the economy and our changing climate. They're wondering about the future that they have for them and their own economic prosperity. So all of these things on top of the lives that young people have to face and navigate. Experts are calling for ongoing investments in mental health resources for young people. 18-year-old Grover says kids and teens need accessible support.

Asking for help is always going to be the most difficult. And getting support is a really life-changing journey for a lot of people. Lauren Pelley, CBC News, Toronto. The world's oceans are hotter than at any other time in recorded history. Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service says the daily average sea surface temperature on Saturday beat the record set in March 24. The lab says this is the latest indicator of the growing El Nino phenomenon combined with human-caused climate change. It calls this new data particularly troubling because global ocean temperatures usually peak in March and April.

Copernicus has been recording consecutive months of near-record temperatures throughout 2026. Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes ahead of a wildfire in Nevada. The hawk fire broke out Saturday morning. It has rapidly spread towards the outskirts of Reno, and local officials believe it could keep growing for the next few days. Human activity is being blamed for starting the fire, but investigators are still trying to determine exactly what happened. Businesses across the country have said Ottawa's move to curb immigration numbers

is leaving them in a bind. temporary foreign workers' permits are expiring, meaning some employees have to leave the country. Sabrina Fabian reports on how one industry is scrambling to cope. Well, it's affecting our business daily. At the Weston Hotel in downtown Halifax, General Manager Glenn Bowie is trying to handle staffing issues. More than a quarter of his employees are temporary foreign workers, or TFWs. They can be forced to stop working at a moment's notice if their work permits expire and are not extended. The day they were told, no, they were told, and you have to stop working immediately.

You can't come to work today. From front desk staff to housekeeping, it's an issue affecting not only this hotel, but the hospitality industry across the country, as the federal government makes cuts to immigration. But the program was historically designed to mainly fill gaps in the agricultural sector, says Colin Meng, an economist at McMaster University. So back in 2022, we had severe labor shortages all across the kind of in both rural and urban areas, which is why the federal government allowed the temporary foreign worker program to expand and allowed so many urban employers to hire temporary foreign

workers. That situation has changed dramatically over the past couple of years. But Canadians aren't applying for these jobs, says Julie Marks, who owns the Italian market, a restaurant and shop in Halifax. I just think that it's such a transient industry, that people can just pick up and go and leave and go work somewhere else. hiring foreigners isn't an easy fix. It requires time and paperwork, says Louis-Philippe Couttsier of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

A business before they turn to TFW, they have to demonstrate that they've gone to market, that they've actively advertised for the positions, that they didn't receive the responses that they needed to be able to fill the positions. Once their permit expires, these workers rely on getting permanent residency so they can stay. But the federal government has cut back from 500. thousand down to 380,000. Immigration lawyers Sarah McGuinness says some workers have families and have lived in Canada for years. I understand, you know, if immigration needs to be limited, but to have the people who are already here and already established and already contributing be the ones that are suffering

is not fair. A spokesperson at Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada says it's prioritizing pathways to permanent residents for people already living and working here. And that people who work in rural communities will see their applications move more quickly through the system, leaving some businesses in cities short-staffed. Sabrina Fabian, CBC News, Halifax. And finally, the bangs of drums and crashes of symbols as dancers in a larger-than-life lion costume perform their routine.

The Pan-American traditional lion dance championship took place in Edmonton over the weekend. It was the first time the event was held in Canada and a big moment for the team from Trinidad and Tobago, which became the first Caribbean team to compete. I am the tail of the lion, so I have to do a lot of lifting as well as you have to be bending a lot. So it's a lot of pressure on the lower back and stuff, and it's a very high-intensity workout, I would say.

That's Trinidad and Tobago dancer Mancini Mahadio. He and his team trained three or four times a week for several months to perfect their version of the Chinese dance. Being from the Caribbean, we have our own style that we like to add, but it is traditional Chinese lion dance, so we try to keep it within the rules and the governing aspects of the competition. This year's competition also included teams from Panama, Mexico, and the United States. Michael Young is with the Canada Dragon and Lion Dance Sports Association.

He says the traditional Chinese dance is becoming a competitive sport and attracting interest from the United States. around the world. No one owns the culture. In order to make the culture great, we have to share. So that's why we have this championship. When people come in, share the skill and be proud. Yang's group is recognized by Wushu Canada,

which governs and promotes Chinese martial arts and kung fu. Kit Poon is president of the Alberta branch. As we grow and as we want to step onto the international stage, there needs to be a lot of standardization. needs to be a common way for everyone to join the sport, regardless of any sort of cultural background or race or ability. Mahadio also hopes to keep seeing the sport grow, both in his country and beyond.

We're very honored and thankful for this opportunity to be here, and we hope that this is an opportunity for us to grow and to develop the sport of limelands within Trinand, and as well as the Caribbean, and to go further and further to reach as far as we've got. Thanks so much for being with us. This has been your will tonight for Monday, August 24th. I'm Zalima Shivji.

Have a good night. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.com slash podcasts.